7 N. Maluku vernaculars in danger of extinction

Seven out of 30 local languages in North Maluku are in danger of dying out due to the decreasing number of their speakers over the last five years, the region’s Language Center says.

North Maluku Language Center chief Sanggo A. Siruah said that unlike other local languages in the region, the seven endangered languages had fewer than 1,000 speakers.

“A single local language, acting as the mother tongue, is no longer used as a medium for communication by the people. That is why the chances of the languages becoming extinct are very high,” he said as quoted by tempo.co.

He explained that the result of a study by the Language Center revealed that there were 30 local languages in North Maluku, which were categorized into 17 groups. Out of the 30, one local language had been declared extinct and seven others were in jeopardy.

He emphasized that the situation called for a more serious attention from the regional administration.

“If not, I fear that we will only see North Maluku local languages in history books,” he said.

According to Sanggo, the threat of extinction was mainly due to rapid development of technology and the strong influence of modern languages. (awd)